Over the course of 9 days, I had an
opportunity to visit, meet and interact with leaders at 6 social enterprises
across Delhi, Tilonia and Jaipur and reflect on their work, their values,
approach and leadership style. Traveling with a group of 9 other leaders from
across countries helped me gain a wider perspective and further refine by own
thoughts and understanding.
I saw at work different ideas and a
model of empowerment at each of the organizations visited and was left reflecting
on, “What is Empowerment?”
At one organization, doing selfless
service in providing artificial limbs to the poorest of the poor for over 40
years, I saw the commitment, the focus, and the determination in their work. I
saw the generosity of the leader and I saw how their work was providing another
shot at livelihood to the poor. The poor came from far and wide – feeling
hopeless and apprehensive and went away feeling alive again. Having grown up in
India, I have seen how the disabled are treated as a burden, many a time
confined to their homes, considered a liability, subject to pity and sympathy
and incapable. A person who is disabled due to an accident not only loses their
livelihood but also their sense of self, their dignity and many a times the
love and respect of their family. Hence, the work of this organization is
unquestionably important and needed.
Yet, amongst all this good work, I
felt a discomfort. I felt uncomfortable when the founder asked an amputee to
remove his artificial limbs and show it to the gathering in full public view.
Something didn’t sit well with me when he asked another to run with them.
Something didn’t feel right when he asked a woman who had just got a limb to
remove it, show her legs and put it back on. The woman obliging in full public
view and looking visibly uncomfortable for having to lift her sari while we
watched. I cringed with embarrassment but tried to keep my judgment at
bay. I attempted to understand the need
to prove the sturdiness and durability of their product but the approach didn’t
seem to find favour with me.
He invited another young man,
always referring to the young or old as Beta/Beti (son/daughter). He asked him
how much money he had on him, the man was hesitant feeling singled out but
eventually said he had Rs. 22. One of us was asked to count the money just to
be sure. The founder then referred to this man in third person, not asking his
name and went on to say that this man is so poor that he cannot even afford a
single meal and how can someone expect to charge him for the limbs. I cringed
as the man was visibly embarrassed at being called poor in full public view.
The founder was making a valid
point around affordability. 95% of the poor were the ones who lost their limbs
in accidents. Losing limbs in India meant loss of dignity, loss of livelihood
and in many cases abandonment by the family. Hence, the policy of the
organization to support the poorest of the poor and not charge them a single
rupee. It costs the organization Rs. 3000 to fit one artificial limb and there
is no way the poor can afford this cost. No one is sent back. Infact, they gave
them a place to stay, three meals a day and even train fare back to their
village. They ensured that each individual got a limb within 3 days. All great
approaches deeply entrenched in understanding their customer and delivering on
their promises. All approaches coming from experiences and having worked in the
field for over 40 years. Yet, I felt uncomfortable that the poor and the
disabled were assumed to have no dignity and self-esteem and could be singled
out in a crowd to showcase their work. While customer endorsement and feedback
is important, could there be sensitivity in the way we seek it?
As we walked out of the premises,
we saw a group of people waiting for him, some who had got their limbs fixed
and some waiting for them to be fixed. He made us stand around, he himself sat
on a chair and asked the patients to approach him one by one.
“What is your name? Where are you
from? How did you lose your limb? Do you do any work? How much money do you
have? How much do you earn? And based on what he heard, he either gave them a
livelihood kit of not. What is the livelihood kit you might ask? They have 3
kits – a tailoring unit for a woman and a Tea-stall unit or food stall unit for
the man. An initiative to support the livelihoods of people who have lost their
jobs because of their disability and give them a chance at earning some income.
A very noble gesture indeed and one could see that the people were extremely
grateful for the support. I was wondering if the poor could have a choice of
livelihood, a shot at pursuing their dreams and if it might have been more
empowering to give them money to choose their own livelihood instead. One can
argue that money can be misused and the founder mentioned that 20% of the
people who receive livelihood kits do misuse it.
However, where is dignity if
there is no trust. Could we give wings to their dreams instead?
The imagery of that moment left me
deeply disempowered. What I saw was the poor waiting for him, he sitting there
like a king doling out goodies. His body language showed distrust of the poor.
The poor standing with folded hands and hopeful eyes and feeling terribly
obliged when he did provide them support. The people did feel empowered with a
new limb as they saw it as a second shot at life. The people felt grateful at
the opportunity to start a new livelihood. I wonder if this is enough.
Isn’t empowerment treating them
with dignity in their disability and ensuring they go away feeling that they
are capable of achieving all their dreams and desires and there is no limit to
what they can achieve in life?
Isn’t empowerment believing that
they are able and capable with or without limbs and our job is to enhance their
sense of self and give them the tools (artificial limbs) that will give wings
to their dreams?
Isn’t empowerment ensuring that the
disabled are treated with dignity by their families, communities and by the
government?
Isn’t empowerment, using our cause
to change mindsets about disability and fighting for laws that ensure the
rights of the disabled?
Is giving limbs enough? I am
reminded of an American friend who lost his limbs in a landmine accident at an
early age of 19 and went on to start an International organization fighting for
a land-mine free world that won the noble peace prize. His artificial limbs
gave him his life back but it was his sense of purpose, sense of self that made
him change the way the world looks at the disabled.
In our group, we had a blind
participant from UK. Traveling on her own for the first time to India, she came
with confidence and a sense of purpose. She managed to traverse the complexity
of India and its chaos on her own not once feeling dependent or vulnerable. Her
sensitivity and insights left us spell-bound as she saw India with her other
senses. I wonder what did her family, her community and her society do to build
this sense of dignity in her, to make her feel that she was capable and not
disabled in anyway.
I am deeply inspired by this
organization’s commitment and dedicated self-less service. With over 24,500
artificial limbs been fixed every year, it takes tremendous amount of hard work
to make it happen. I am delighted that organization’s such as these exist who
are not worried about sustainability, scale, replicability, etc. but truly
believe that if we continue to do our work with sincerity and a sense of
purpose, God will always find a way to help us. The founder has been a
dedicated volunteer for over 39 years and runs the organization on principles
of frugality even paying for our tea from his pocket. His child-like enthusiasm
and a sense of curiosity is endearing. His commitment to the poor is
unquestionable. It takes courage to take on such a difficult cause and stick
with it for over four decades.
As I sit back and ask myself, “What
is empowerment?”, this is what I receive. Giving limbs is the first step to
empowerment which this organization does beautifully. However, for me, it is also
breaking my own prejudices about the poor and disabled; about truly believing
that the poor and disabled are capable and able; they have dignity just like I
do and it’s not only my actions but also my intentions that are critical as I
chose to bring them products and services. Being sensitive and treating each
human being, irrespective of their background and disability, with respect is
truly empowering myself and through my being empowering the people I work with.
